The troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor made headlines again when the Nuclear Regulation Authority said it apparently plans to ensure the facility remains idled after announcing that the Japan Atomic Energy Agency failed to properly inspect some 10,000 components, including critical ones. Following are ...

The chief priest of the Buddhist temple that won the bid to acquire the Tokyo headquarters of the pro-Pyongyang group Chongryon said Friday he has failed to gather enough funds for the purchase, suggesting financial institutions were pressured not to extend loans to his ...

The government may simplify the immigration process to make it easier for foreign tourists to enter Japan and achieve its goal of bringing in 25 million visitors a year by 2020. A panel under the Justice Ministry that has discussed the topic since October ...

When the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development was held 20 years ago, circumstances in Japan and Africa were vastly different than they are today. Japan, despite the implosion of the bubble economy by 1993, was still the second-largest economy and the biggest ...

Kanon Mori, Yuki Sakura, Hinako Kuroki and Jun Amaki have been following the Nikkei 225 stock average obsessively since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December. The oldest of the foursome is Mori, but she is still only 23. The youngest is Kuroki, ...

The Bank of Japan on Friday put off additional monetary easing while providing optimistic predictions in its Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices report by boosting inflation forecasts. The outlook, released every six months, predicts that the BOJ and government’s goal of achieving 2 ...

Former prosecutor Masaru Wakasa, 56, a frequent commentator on news programs and talk shows who once worked in the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office, said Thursday he will run in this summer’s Upper House election as a Liberal Democratic Party candidate. “The Diet is ...

Organizers of Tokyo’s Ome Marathon expressed their condolences to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, stressing they intend to work “hand in hand” with the race’s host to help overcome the tragedy. Since signing a sister-race agreement nearly 40 years ago, the Ome ...